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Inside The Dodgers

Dodgers April Awards: MVP, Cy Young, Biggest Disappointment and More

Recapping the first month of the Los Angeles Dodgers' 2026 season.
Noah Camras|
Apr 5, 2026; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers two-way player Shohei Ohtani (17) celebrates with Dodgers right fielder Kyle Tucker (23) after their game against the Washington Nationals at Nationals Park. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-Imagn Images
Apr 5, 2026; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers two-way player Shohei Ohtani (17) celebrates with Dodgers right fielder Kyle Tucker (23) after their game against the Washington Nationals at Nationals Park. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-Imagn Images | Geoff Burke-Imagn Images

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Los Angeles Dodgers

The Los Angeles Dodgers are 20-11 and enter May in first place in the National League West.

All is good, right?

Well, while baseball's back-to-back champions remain the favorite to three-peat, they haven't exactly been the dominant powerhouse they were expected to be.

The Dodgers' best players aren't hitting. Their two biggest offseason additions are struggling (or injured). And they've lost seven of their last 12 games heading into the new month.

Still, there's not much to worry about for LA right now, even with the San Diego Padres breathing down their neck in the NL West.

With one month (and a few days of March) officially in the books, it's a great time to take stock of where things stand for the Dodgers.

MVP of April: Andy Pages

It would be very easy to give this award to Shohei Ohtani every month because he's the team's most valuable player by definition. However, in an attempt to give recognition elsewhere, the award is going to outfielder Andy Pages.

Pages enjoyed a breakout start to the season, even though he cooled down over the last few weeks.

Overall, the 25-year-old is slashing .321/.366/.518 with five home runs, 25 runs batted in and an OPS of .884. On top of that, he's played great defense in center field, with a couple impressive outfield assists.

Pages has been a bright spot in a lineup that has seen a lot of struggles to start the year. It's now time for the top of the lineup to start picking him up.

Cy Young of April: Shohei Ohtani

You didn't think we were going to go that long without talking about Ohtani, right?

Shohei Ohtani had a "down" month offensively, hitting six home runs with an OPS of .897. Those would be career-best numbers for many players.

However, they aren't exactly up to Ohtani's standards, so he made up for it by being one of baseball's best pitchers — and arguably baseball's best pitcher.

Ohtani has completed six innings in all five of his starts, allowing a total of just two earned runs for a 0.60 ERA. He has 34 strikeouts to nine walks and is among the best pitchers in terms of fastball velocity, expected ERA and expected batting average.

He's a leading candidate for the NL Cy Young award with one month of the season in the books. He's somehow getting better as a pitcher at 31 years old with two major elbow surgeries under his belt.

Biggest Disappointment of April: Kyle Tucker

There are 240 million reasons why Tucker has been the team's biggest disappointment.

He's hitting just .241 with three home runs, 15 RBIs and an OPS of .702. More concerning: He's chasing and striking out more than ever, and is playing below-average defense in right field.

The Dodgers didn't need Tucker; they won back-to-back World Series without him. But if you're going to be paid $240 million over four years, you're expected to produce at $240 million worth of value (or at least close to it).

Tucker hasn't been close thus far.

Biggest Surprises of April: Dalton Rushing and Justin Wrobleski

The Dodgers have had two big surprises, and it wasn't worth picking one over the other. So we're going with both.

Rushing's bat, which made him a top prospect in the organization, has fully broken out. He's second on the team in home runs (seven) and tied-for-second in RBIs (17). He doesn't have enough at-bats to qualify, but if he did, he'd lead the team in batting average (.348), slugging percentage (.848) and OPS (1.271).

He's made it very easy for the Dodgers to give Will Smith plenty of rest behind the plate, and even give Ohtani off days as the DH when he pitches.

As for Wrobleski, he's been the team's best pitcher outside of Ohtani. He threw four innings in relief in his season debut. Ever since, he's been a starter — and he's been untouchable.

Across Wrobleski's four starts, he's pitched 26 innings, allowing just two earned runs for a 0.69 ERA. He's getting outs, putting up zeroes and making a case to remain in the Dodgers' rotation even when Blake Snell returns in the coming weeks.

Unsung Hero of April: Max Muncy's Glasses

On April 30, 2025, Max Muncy started wearing glasses.

It's officially been one year since Muncy has had better vision. He's been one of the best hitters in baseball over that time.

In 101 games with the glasses, Muncy is slashing .274/.397/.572 with 28 home runs, 74 RBIs, 77 strikeouts to 64 walks and an OPS of .969. His wRC+ of 166 ranks fourth among MLB hitters with at least 350 plate appearances in that time.

Through April of this season, Muncy leads the team in home runs (nine) and OPS among qualified Dodgers (.968).

Shoutout his optometrist.

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Noah Camras
NOAH CAMRAS

Noah Camras graduated from the University of Southern California in 2022 with a B.A. in Journalism and a minor in sports media studies. He was born and raised in Los Angeles and has extensively covered Southern California sports in his career. Noah is the publisher of Dodgers on SI after contributing as a writer and editor over the last three years.

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